Connections and Relations
by AliceOujosama
Summary: After a conversation with Jane about their feelings for one another, Jake now feels confident in his feelings for Dirk and wants to find out how Dirk feels. Is a ride down down the street is all it takes to bring them together in more than one sense?
1. Chapter 1

Chatting online with your friends was a part of your daily routine. You and your three close friends all lived in the same city, but you were home schooled so you didn't always get to see your friends every day, plus they all had lives and some times found themselves to be quite busy.

You just finished a chat with your dear friend Jane. She was a rather darling thing and you felt it was mostly on her behalf that the conversation the two of you just had did not become terrible awkward. You just finished confronting her about her feelings for you. You had been under the assumption, for some time now, that she had feelings for you that were more than mere friendship and, somewhat to your dissapointment, that assumption had just been put to rest. She was nothing more than one of the best friends any gent could ask for and after the rest of your conversation, you were quite alright with this, but now you had bigger fish to fry.

You needed to speak with one of your other chums. Dirk Strider, one your best friend in the world, could be described as one of the most exemplory gents there ever was to walk the Earth and a friend you adore and respect with great immensity. But from what you have acquired from his Auto Responder as well as from Jane, you believed, nearly without a doubt that Dirk most definitely has romantic feelings for you. You had been considering this for many years now, and you had even said that you might date Dirk if he had been born a female. Now you weren't so sure this condition needed to be met.

You pondered whether to simply go straight to his home or send him a message. After a moment you pulled out your husk top, having decided to take the safe bet and message him to see if you could go over.

After a few minutes you had your computer sitting in your lap and you had pesterchum pulled up. One deep breath later, you had a chat opened and were messaging your chum.

**golgothasTerror [GT] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] at 4:43**

**GT: Bro.**  
**GT: Are you there dirk?**

It took a few minutes before you got a response, but that made you more certain you weren't speaking with the Auto Responder, plus that thing and you were on a more understanding level at this point and he tended to tell you when it was him.

**TT: Keep your shorts on English. I'm here. What services do you require today?**

Much to your happiness, Dirk finally answered finally allowing you to get the conversation on with. You leaned back against the head board of your bed and began typing.

**GT: Well it just so happens that i just got off the horn with jane and after our conversation i felt the need to ring you up.**  
**GT: Are you busy right now perchance? I was actually wondering if i might come over or vise versa...**  
**GT: Im not sure this is the best conversation to have over pesterchum.**  
**TT: I was just about to mix some beats, but I can make time for you.**  
**TT: You can come on over if you'd like, my Bro just left the house for a movie shoot so I have the house to myself for a few days.**  
**GT: Great! Ill come over straight away.**  
**GT: See you soon gent!**  
**TT: See you soon.**  
**golgothasTerror [GT] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT]**

You couldn't help but let a small smile creep its way onto your face. Talking to Dirk always made you happy even with everything that was on your mind.

You grabbed your phone and rushed out the door, stopping by a mirror on the way out to shoot yourself two pistols and a wink. With a laugh and a wave good bye to your grandmother, you went out the door and jumped on your scooter, more closely related to a motorcycle, and began the short drive to Dirk's house.

The wind was blowing through your hair as you navigated the streets. The route to Dirk's house was familar since you'd gone down it so many times over the past years, and before you were aware, you had arrived. You parked the scooter in his garage; it was mostly empty since Dirk's bro had taken his car to whatever movie shoot he was on his way to. After a moment of hesitation you walked to the front door and rang the bell.

It only took a few seconds before you heard the door unlock, and a second later Dirk was standing in the doorway. He was dressed in his typical black jeans and a white shirt with an orange hat on the front. His clothes hung flatteringly from his masculine frame. Dirk wasn't overly muscular, but he was anything but feminine.

Dirk's eye wear could only be described as anime glasses. They were resting on the bridge of his nose, preventing you from seeing his eyes. You'd only seen his eyes a few times, but thus far you'd never been able to see what color they were. It was a mystery you really wanted to solve, but now was not the time.

"Hey Jake. Come on in." Dirk opened the door wider, moving to the side to let you in. In person, Dirk spoke with less sarcasm and irony, more like a normal person, but that just made his voice all the more appealing to listen to.

"Thanks bro." You smiled and walked right in, making your way to the living room. You could hear the door click behind you as it was closed then locked, and Dirk appeared in the living room as you sat down on the couch that lay along the back wall of the room, facing the massive TV and sound system were both currently turned off.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about Jake? Did Jane say something to freak you out or are you here to beg me for more uranium?" Dirk smirked and sat on the couch arm next to you. He stared straight ahead, but even as you looked at the side of his face, you still couldn't see his eyes clear enough to make out their color.

"Tch, I have no need for uranium right now. The matter I wish to speak to you about is a tab different from that." You fidgeted with the end of your shirt for a moment, trying to find the right words to start this conversation.

"Oh wow, this is rare. Normally you just try to hit me up for uranium every other minute" Dirk turned sideways, putting his feet on the couch cushion while still sitting on the arm of the couch. He leaned forward, his arms pressing down on his thighs. His legs were open in a typical male stance, and although you had seen this pose dozens of times before, in this situation it was a bit unnerving. You couldn't help but tug at your shirt collar gaining an eye brow raise but no comment from Dirk.

"Well today is different." You tried to shake yourself out of it and finally started to move on with what you were trying to say. "I came over here today because I want to talk to you about something. I do hope I don't sound presumptuous, but I really feel this must be said so that no misunderstandings lay between us, and please do feel free to be blatantly honest with me at any point." Your words came out in a tad bit of a rush, but it wasn't too bad.

"Sounds like someone is on a mission today. Very well Jake. If it's honesty you want, then I can serve that all afternoon. Just tell me whatever it is already." Although he didn't sound it, you could sense that Dirk was tense compared to when you first entered the house a few minutes ago. He probably knew what was coming and was trying to think of a way to handle it in the coolest way possible. Even under duress, a Strider is still a Strider.

"Very well. Then I best start this." You took a breath and tugged at your collar a tad before turning towards Dirk. "Well for some time now, I feel we've been teetering along something that is... well, more than friendship and from what I've discussed with both your Auto Responder as well as Jane, well it seems that they both support my theory of foreign feelings between the two of us. Does this ring any bell of truth with you?"

You stared up at Dirk, anxiously waiting some form of reply. You had been thinking for some time about what you would say to him and you felt you got your point across, now you just had to wait for Dirk to give his imput, and you so desperately hoped it was positive.

It took a moment, but eventually Dirk answered. "I thought you dismissed the thought of this sort of thing a few years back when you said you would date me_ if I were a girl_."

You couldn't see it, but by God could you feel an icy stare piercing your skin through those shades as Dirk waited for your reply.

"Well, as of late, I've been pondering this as well. Lately I have been wondering why something that trivial would need to be a requirement in this situation. Because of this, I have been reconsidering things lately, but as Roxy likes to put it, I'm not very knowledgable when it comes to the birds and the bees..."

"I should really thank who ever helped you come to this conclusion. I honestly never saw this sort of thing coming."

"I never expected my day to take this turn when I woke up this morning, but anyway... how do you feel about me, Dirk? Do you feel something for me that is more than friendship? And please do feel free to correct me if I am suffering from a misunderstanding, I seem to be doing that a lot today." You really wanted to get an answer out of him, good or bad, the entire matter was just crushing you with anxiety.

In a much calmer voice than your own, Dirk quickly replied. "This isn't another one of those misunderstandings. It's been a number of years since I've felt just friendship for you Jake." For a moment, you thought you could see Dirk's gaze through his glasses. It looked like he was staring intensely at you, his gaze piercing through you the entire time.

You stayed silent for a moment and fiddled with the end of your shirt, earning you a smirk from Dirk. You didn't know whether to be unsettled or comforted by that. "So, just to make sure I'm not misunderstanding, we both feel for each other something that is more than friendship, and this is not just another display of irony?" It seemed a natural precaution to you to check if this whole thing was for irony's sake or if this was being taken serious. Dirk on the other hand, seemed to be taken slightly aback by it, although it also seemed he somewhat expected it.

"You are one hell of an oblivious dude, you know that?"

A small smile hung on Dirks lips and before you could say anything, you found yourself with your back pressed down on the couch cushions and Dirk hovering above you. He had one arm beside your head and another pushing your chest down, not hard enough to hurt you, but enough to keep you down. He was poised on his knees, keeping his weight from bearing down on you aside from the pressure being put down on you with his hand.

"D-Dirk..." Your eyes went wide behind your glasses, this was by far one of the last things you expected to happen, but for some reason it didn't seem like you needed to oppose it or fight back. This wasn't a tussle, although you could definitely hear your heart pounding.

Before another word could escape your mouth, your lips were captured by Dirk's. One of the first things you noticed was that his lips were softer than you thought they would be, and they moved gently yet passionately over your own. Your eyes were still wide with shock when he first started to kiss you, but as the kiss progressed your eyes gradually closed.

He kissed you for what felt like an eternity, but as he began to break the kiss you felt you never wanted it to stop. Your cheeks were flushed and you felt the need to look away from Dirk. Something about the kiss combined with his invisible stare put you a little on the nervous side.

"Have I made myself clear now?" Dirk wore the same small smile from before and stayed in his previous position, this time keeping both his hands on the cushion beside either side of your head, making it dip back as the cushion sank under his weight.

"I think it would help if I did this." You reached up to Dirk's face and took his glasses in your hands, your fingers brushing the skin along his cheek bones. Dirk moved back for a moment, then reconsidered and let you slide his shades off. You put them down beside you, laying them down carefully as you stared up at the orange irises looking down at you through half lidded eyes. Dirk's eyes were bright even though they were only half open and the strange color made them all the more alluring to you.

"I never knew your eyes are orange. They're amazing..." You didn't know what to say, but what you did manage to let slip out seemed to make Dirk happy. His smile grew a tad and you felt a small feeling of accomplishment for having managed this.

"I'm glad you like them. It seems to be a Strider family trait to have unnatural eye colors." Dirk's smile was priceless. Normally he wore a rather neutral expression, but when he smiled you couldn't help but feel a little bit of warmth grow inside you. His smile had always been such a rare and treasured thing and it was much different from this perspective. You had been pinned down by Dirk before during a vast number of brawls, but this was no tussle, this was a different experience all together.

You couldn't help but gaze up at Dirk. His eyes were just too mesmerizing for you to look away. If your heart wasn't already beating quickly, it sure was now.

Whether he just so happened to take that moment to notice your gaze or if it was just good timing, he lowered his face once more and began kissing you again. The last kiss was a gentle one while this one was much more heated and passionate. Dirk's eyes were open, but just to the point where you could only see a sliver of orange. You closed your eyes and put your hands on his back, holding onto his shirt and pulling him closer to you. Dirk seemed to be made happy by this and leaned into you as he intensified the kiss. Much to your surprise, a few seconds later you felt Dirk's tongue tracing over the space between your lips. Even though it took you by surprise and made you feel even more embarassed then you had been that day, you opened your mouth allowing Dirk's tongue to begin roaming your mouth. His movements made it seem like he had desired this much longer than you could have imagined. His body moved so naturally and comfortably with yours, this foreign action somehow seemed so natural and oddly familar to you. Your tongue and his moved in sync with one another's. You could feel your cheeks get hot as the kiss went on and one of Dirk's hands found it's way down to your hips where it held you closer to him.

A few moments later, and all too soon in your opinion, you found yourself breaking the kiss. Your cheeks were hot and you took a few deep breaths, trying to make up for the ones lost to the kiss. Dirk looked as though he were a little out of breath as well, but he some how continued to remain calm, cool, and collected. He was already staring back down at you and you couldn't help but stare back at him.

Suddenly Shots by LMFAO started to blast loudly from your phone, a sure sign that Roxy was trying to get in contact with you. You quickly slid out form under Dirk and started fumbling for your phone. Dirk sat up and leaned against the side of the couch, a groan of discontent escaped his lips as he recognized Roxy's ring tone.

"That girl has the worst timing. What does she want anyway?"

"Probably another shot of vodka... oh bloody hell!" You saw the time on the text message. It was getting close to time for you to go back home. You couldn't do much driving at night, and the sun was threatening to go down at any moment.

"Did Roxy drink herself into a coma?" Dirk was half serious as he watched you scan over your phone.

"Not a clue, but its time for me to head home. It's about to get dark and if I don't leave soon, it'll be too dangerous to drive..." You reluctantly put your phone back in your pocket.

"You could sleepover you know." Dirk took his glasses from the edge of the couch and started spinning them in his hand.

"Heh, somehow I have a feeling your 'sleepover' wouldn't actually involve any sleeping." You somehow managed to be the type of person who could go from embarassed to cocky at a moment's notice. "Plus, I don't have any of my things with me."

"I think I sensed some sarcasm in your voice Jake." Dirk chuckled and tapped your forehead with his glasses. "You're probably right though, it's about time for you to go on home."

"Sorry about that Dirk, maybe another day?"

"Want to come over tomorrow? Like I said earlier, I'll have to house to myself for a while, so I'll be very lonely if no one is here to keep me company." A teasing tone slipped into Dirk's voice although you had a strong hunch he was completely serious. He definitely wanted you to stay with him and you weren't a _complete_ idiot, you knew this.

"I'll be sure to pack a bag and head over straight away tomorrow morning, that is if you're awake."

"I think that can be arranged." A smirk crossed his face as Dirk leaned over and buried his face in your neck. Before you knew what he was doing, you felt a hard sucking on your neck, then a bite.

"Tch!" It hurt, but it also felt good in a way, it was really hard for you to explain, but you had to admit it felt nice when Dirk licked over the spot he just attacked for some unknown reason.

When Dirk finally removed himself from your neck, he wore a triumphant smirk. He stood up and held a hand out towards you to help you up off the couch.

You took his hand and stood up. For some reason you found yourself a little wobbly but you were fine after a moment. He held your hand as he led the way to the garage, knowing without having to ask that you had parked your scooter in the empty garage. You let go of Dirk's hand and hopped on your scooter. You and Dirk stayed quiet for a few moments, neither saying anything until suddenly the silence was interrupted when Sugar by Flo Rida began blaring on your phone signaling that Jane was also trying to get in contact with you.

You glared down at your pocket as you turned the phone off, once again reminded of how late it was getting.

"I really must turn that blasted thing down! It's so loud." You sighed and turned the scooter on. You were just about to drive off when Dirk suddenly put a hand under your chin and lifted your face up into a quick kiss.

"See you tomorrow English." Dirk slipped his glasses on and stepped back, leaving you room to drive.

"Till then." You flashed him a smile and shot him your signature two pistols and a wink before driving away.

Just as you were almost too far to see him, you saw Dirk pointing to his neck. He must've wanted you to check that spot he bit. You made a mental note to check your neck as soon as you got home, and with that thought you sped onward towards home.


	2. Chapter 2

You slept peacefully that night. You were never one to let your emotions get the best of you and mess with your sleep schedule, but when you woke up you couldn't help but have a slight internal freakout at the thought of going to Dirk's place. Yesterday had been such a mixture of so many emotions that you really didn't know what to do with yourself, but one emotion did stand out from yesterday's mix; you had been uncomprehendingly happy. Dirk and you finally established your feelings for one another and by some miracle it went over a lot easier than you thought it would.

You woke up in a ragged state which was soon fixed by a shower and some fresh clothes. It was a little after 10 a.m. so you went ahead and had some late breakfast.

After breakfast, you decided to go ahead and message Dirk. He was probably still asleep, but you figured you might as well try to get through to him and if he wasn't available, you'd still get through to his Auto Responder. He was always up to talk and you were positive he'd have something to say about yesterday.

**golgothasTerror [GT] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] at 10:53**

**GT: Dirk are you up yet?**  
**TT: Don't be a dumbass English, you should be well aware he doesn't wake up before noon on the weekends.**  
**GT: It was worth a shot wasn't it?**  
**TT: No. It really wasn't.**

For some reason the AR seemed rather brash to you. Normally he wasn't this blunt, but maybe he was just having one of those moods he sometimes had.

**GT: Are you alright chap? You seem a bit off today.**  
**TT: Oh no, I'm just peaches and candy over hear in the wonderful land of "let's all fuck with the emotionless auto responder."**  
**GT: What in the world?**  
**GT: Why do you feel youre in that position?**  
**TT: Oh I don't know. Maybe because I was removed yesterday and was put into a place where I couldn't find out what the fuck was going on. It's not like I've been hard at work for the past few years trying to make that magical moment last night happen. No sir, everything is just fine.**

You had to think for a minute about what he was saying, then you realized he was referring to when you took Dirk's glasses off. AR must have been watching the situation from there and when you took the shades away, he could no longer see what was going on.

**GT: Oh im sorry sport! I didnt even think of that.**  
**TT: It still happened.**  
**GT: Alright alright. Im sorry.**  
**GT: Ill try to be more considerate next time but in situations like that i rather not be watched...**  
**TT: Oh come on! It's not like I'm going to be making a porno here. I just want to aqcuire accurate data on this extensive venture.**  
**GT: If you want data why cant you just question me? I do believe that would be much easier for me to handle.**  
**TT: I already knew I could do that, but seeing is believing, Jake.**  
**TT: It seems that will just have to do for now though. Since you so readily volunteered, how did it go anyway? I got to see the first kiss, but what happened after?**

You couldn't help but feel your cheeks flush a little, but you chuckled as you wrote your reply. The AR seemed so anxious for information, it was rather cute to you actually. You never felt nervous when you knew you were talking to AR, something about him being a machine made you feel more secure when you spoke to him versus others.

**GT: Well after i took you off we pretty much just continued from there until i had to go home.**  
**TT: Did you two fuck?**

At this moment you took back anything you'd ever thought about not being nervous around AR. He was basically a 13 year old Dirk, so would your Dirk have had the same thought on his mind? If that was what AR thought was going to happen, was that what Dirk was aiming for?

**GT: Bloody hell! No! We did no such thing!**  
**GT: Why in the world would you be under that assumption?**  
**TT: Am I wrong to assume that a dating relationship would not involve that?**  
**GT: Oh my gog... can we not discuss this? I would really rather not if you don't mind.**  
**TT: Whatever floats your boat, but don't expect it to not become relevant soon.**  
**GT: Whatever. Its not a problem now so lets get on to another topic.**  
**GT: Is strider up yet or is he still snoozing?**  
**TT: You're actually in luck today. Looks like the big man got up early today. He went to take a shower about 5 minutes ago.**  
**TT: You could probably go ahead and come over. Somehow I don't think today will be one of those days he takes one of his legendarily long showers.**  
**GT: Alright then ill go pack up my rocksack and be on my way.**  
**GT: Give him the heads up im coming?**  
**TT: Yeah, I'll make sure he knows you're on your way.**  
**GT: Thanks chap! Ill see the two of you soon.**  
**TT: See you later.**  
**timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pestering golgothasTerror [GT]**

You exited out of the chat with a sigh. You were still looking forward to spending the night with Dirk, but suddenly you were wondering if things were going to get complicated.

Those thoughts carried over with you as you began packing your bag. You grabbed a green and black backpack from your closet and tossed some clothes and stuff for the night into it.

You took your bag and walked downstairs. The walk was long, you lived in a towerlike building and the stairs just went on and on, but you loved living so high up.

When you got downstairs you grabbed an apple from the fridge then started eating it while sitting on the kitchen counter. It was juicy and crisp, but you were really just looking for a reason to kill a few minutes. You didn't want to get over to Dirk's house while he was still in the shower.

After a few minutes of eating, you grabbed your bag and walked outside, saying goodbye to your grandma on the way out. You were a master of avoiding conflicts with her after years of practice, it nearly never happened any more.

You dropped off the apple core in the compost heap behind the house, then hopped on your scooter. It was a nice spring day, and the weather felt pretty darn perfect to you. There was a light breeze, and their was a couple fluffy looking clouds floating in the sky. Perfect wrestling weather in your opinion.

The drive was short, and there were barely any cars out that day. Within about ten minutes, you reached Dirk's house. It was a few minutes past noon now; the sun was high in the sky. The garage was open, so you went ahead and parked your scooter near the far wall.

You walked out of the garage and over to the front door and rang the door bell, then took a step back as you waited for Dirk. The Striders were anything but mundane and that could be noticed even in their door bell. The noise it made wasn't a normal ringing noise, but a mix of beats that one of the two Strider men reprogrammed on at least a weekly basis. This week's beat was some sort of dubstep that you could hear clearly through the door.

A few seconds after you rang, the door clicked and it was opened. Dirk stood there, leaning against the door frame as the door moved away from him. His hair was damp, but still managed to not hang limply around his face. It already had that bounce that lifted it up and back from his face. He was wearing his normal dark jeans that hung snug around his legs. He wasn't wearing his normal white shirt though, but his black tank top instead; you couldn't see it because he was leaning against it, but you knew his shirt showed off his tattoo.

You couldn't stop yourself from letting your eyes roam up and down his form. Today, for some reason Dirk wasn't wearing his glasses. His eyes were such a bright orange, they looked as though they radiated light as you gazed at them. You had always found Dirk physically alluring, so it was a wonder you hadn't come to terms with your feelings before now.

"Come on in, English." Everything seemed to be going the same as ever. Dirk walked with his hands in his front pockets as he led you to his room. He sat down in his chair by his table which housed his computer, turn tables, and other electronics whose purposes you'd never quite understood.

You threw your bag down by his nightstand, and jumped on the oversized bed, laying on your stomach as you put your head in your hands. The bed was actually made for once, so you made sure not to mess it up.

"You're up early for once! What brought this on?"

"I didn't sleep too well last night. I kept waking up, so at one point I just decided to go ahead and get up." Dirk's face looked as neautral as ever, but without the glasses, you noticed that his eyes were actually quite expressive. They seemed like an open book that you wanted to read for as long as you could. Unfortunately his glasses were resting on the table and he began fiddling with them, looking like he was contemplating putting them on.

You bit your lip, hoping he wouldn't, but much to your despair he put them back on, thus shielding his eyes from your sight.

"Are you alright? Do you need to sleep?" Even through your dissappointment, the fact that your friend didn't sleep well still concerned you.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. I pull all nighters all the time, this is nothing." He gave you a small, reassuring smile. It worked its purpose and you felt it would be fine to let him stay up.

"Alright, but if you get tired, feel free to take a nap."

"We'll see. Anyway, do you want to watch a movie? I just bought a new one and I think you'll like it a lot."

"Sure! What is it? Have I seen it?"

"Seen it? I think you could quote it." Dirk smirked and got out of his chair. He signaled for you to follow him as he started walking towards the kitchen. You got off the bed, sliding off of it, then quickly caught up to him, walking beside him as he went and grabbed a bag of popcorn and started popping it. You jumped up on the counter and made yourself comfortable. It was an odd thing you just tended to do without really realizing it.

Dirk leaned against the counter space next to you, resting his arms and his back against it. He was on your left side, so you could clearly see the tattoo adorning his right shoulder. From your perspective it looked as though it were looking up at you, and you couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing, just your tattoo staring up at me."

Dirk chuckled and rubbed his arm, running his hand up and down the silly tattoo he was oh so proud of.

You smiled and tugged at your collar a little and winced slightly as your finger ran over a sore spot. Dirk didn't seem to notice your reaction, the microwave had beeped signifying the popcorn was done and he was getting it out and putting it into a bowl.

You didn't remember getting hurt there, so you excused yourself to go to the restroom to go check it. When you got to the restroom right down the hall, you flipped the light on and pulled your shirt collar and jacket to the side, revealing a fresh bruise. It was light and not too big, but when you poked it, it was definitely tender. You thought about where you could've gotten it from and then it hit you. You remembered Dirk attacking your neck with his mouth last night. Your face was suddenly pink; you didn't understand why Dirk did that last night and you were still just as perplexed.

"Dirk!" You hollered out the door and walked back to the kitchen where Dirk was getting some drinks out of the fridge.

"Did something happen? Are you alright?" Dirk didn't look concerned as he put the bottles of soda beside the popcorn on the counter.

"I don't know! Why don't you explain this?" You pulled down your collars, revealing the bruise. "Why the bloody hell did you give me a bruise on my neck?"

"Don't get your shorts in a bunch English. It's just a hickey." Dirk's pokerface wasn't fazed, but you thought you saw some kind of reaction behind his glasses.

"And what pray tell is a hickey? A bruise on your neck?" You had a confused expression on your face; you had no clue why he had given you a hickey or what in the world that even was.

"Yeah, let's go with that. It's a bruise on your neck."

"You're not going to give me a straight answer are you?"

"Not until I feel I need to. Maybe tomorrow. Now come on, let's go watch this movie. My bro told me it's actually good." Dirk grabbed the bowl and handed it to you, then grabbed the sodas and started walking to his basement. His brother had turned it into a miniature movie theatre when he bought the house, but instead of theatre seats there were couches and bean bag chairs scattered about the room.

Dirk sat the drinks down at a bar in the back of the room and slipped a DVD into a player connected to projector. He grabbed a remote and sat down on a couch up front. You joined him and sat the popcorn in your lap. He handed you one of the drinks, a Coca-Cola, and you sat it down next to you. He started to mess with the remote and made the previews start. The remote also controleld the lights and he dimmed them down, then turned them off.

It was a good sized couch, but you were both sitting near the middle of it. You were sitting cross legged with the popcorn resting in your lap and Dirk was sitting with one leg folded under the other, raising him up some and making him look taller. For some reason he still had his glasses on in the dark room only lit by the large screen.

"Are you going to leave your glasses on during the movie?"

"Should I not?"

"You won't be able to see it as well as if you took your glasses off." You didn't know why you were making it such a big deal, but you were.

"If you want me to take them off so badly, why don't you make me?" Dirk turned towards you, a challenging smirk aimed your way.

"If that's how you want it, then so be it!" The previews were still running, so you figured you had a few minutes to work with. Truth be told, you figured you knew a good way to get the glasses away from him, but you wanted to try a thing or two first.

You sat the popcorn beside you so that you wouldn't spill it, then just reached over and tried to take the glasses simply by reaching out and trying to take them. Dirk grabbed your hands and held them above your head, much to your prediction. You tried to wriggle your hands free, but he just stared at you and kept his grip firm.

"You'll have to try better than that Jake. That was actually a pretty pathetic attempt if you ask me."

"Don't be a dumbass Strider," you quoted AR from earlier and couldn't help but smile at yourself.

You lifted your arms up higher and pulled them back over his head, pulling Dirk closer to you before he realized what you were doing. You smirked and quickly moved forward and caught his lips, kissing him and holding him there. You could feel his shocked reaction and he loosened his grip around your hands enough for you to slip them out and take his glasses off. You continued to kiss him so that he wouldn't try to take them back, and truth be told, you didn't want to end the kiss any time soon. It may have been something new and alien to you, but you would be lying if you said you didn't enjoy it every time it had happened thus far.

You had your eyes closed and you were both moving your lips with each other's. You had the hand with his glasses behind your back, out of his reach, but your other hand was by his leg and soon enough, one of his hands found yours and entwined his fingers in it. You smiled into the kiss and a few seconds later you were bittersweetly breaking the kiss as you heard the opening music for the movie come on. Dirk chose a good one, it was Avatar, one of your favorites.

You held onto his glasses and sat them on the couch arm, making sure to face them towards the screen. You were both still holding hands, and that was fine with you. You looked at Dirk and noticed his cheeks were red. It had never occurred to you that Dirk could be bashful about anything, so this came as a genuine shock to you, but it felt like you finally knew something about him that no one else knew and that made you very happy.

You decided to mess with him a little more and quickly pecked him on the cheek before grabbing the popcorn and placing it back in your lap.

The movie got going and you started eating the popcorn. Avatar was such an amazing movie and you couldn't wait to see the blue girls. They were some of the most gorgeous women you'd ever seen and seeing them on this giant screen would be a true treat you hadn't gotten since the last time you saw the movie in theaters.

You suddenly threw a piece of popcorn up in the air towards Dirk, and he caught it in his mouth. It was something the two of you did on occassion when you watched movies together. He smiled and it looked like he was no longer blushing.

The two of you finished off the popcorn in about the first 30 minutes of the movie, occassionally throwing pieces at one another, all of them successfully caught by both of you. You moved the popcorn bowl beside you, near the arm of the couch and continued to watch the movie. You were captivated by it and weren't paying any attention to the drowsy boy holding your hand.

Dirk had been dozing off for a few minutes now, not that you noticed. Eventually he let your hand slip out of his and a few minutes later, Dirk could no longer stay upright and he fell over, his head landing in your lap, resting comfortably in the space between your legs. You jumped a little out of surprise, but didn't try to move him. You put a hand in his hair and started to stroke it.

_It's so soft..._

You had figured he was more tired than he let on, but it still came as a surprise that he fell asleep like this.

_He must've been up to something, it's not like him to be so tired._

You looked at him for a few seconds, his sleeping face looked so much gentler than when he was awake, but after a while you went back to watching the movie, but you continued to run your hands through his hair.

About an hour and a half later, the movie was nearing it's end and Dirk stirred in his sleep. He'd been still the entire time, but now he turned over, now facing up at you. He was still sound asleep, but now he would be looking right up at you when he woke up.

You continued to watch the rest of the movie, still running your hand through his hair. There was something comforting about the action and you were enjoying it.

A few minutes later the movie was over and the credits came on, Dirk still showed no sign of waking up and after a few minutes the screen went blue, no longer having anything to show. You didn't mind though because as of right now, it seemed the whole world revolved around Dirk. His hair was so soft under your fingers and you couldn't help but notice how his lips looked so plush as took your other hand and ran a finger along Dirk's face, running it over his cheek bones and his jaw line, then over his lips. Two days ago, you'd never have thought that you'd know how those lips felt against your own, now it seemed like that was all you could think about right then and there.

Before you were entirely aware of what you were doing, you found yourself leaning over and kissing him, This was the second time in a little over two hours that you'd initiated a kiss on that couch, but this time it was much gentler than the previous one, your lips just barely against his.

Somehow this tiny bit of contact was enough to wake up Dirk versus the loud movie that was previously booming from the surround sound. Suddenly you felt a hand against the back of your head, pulling you down towards him and forcing the kiss to get stronger and more heated. You could feel his smile against your lips as he kissed you back. You opened your eyes a tad only to find his still closed. You kept your hand in his hair, and he did the same with you.

A few seconds later the kiss was broken and you were both staring at one another. His eyes were a strange shade with the blue light reflecting off them.

"Thanks for the wake up call English, I wish I got that treat more often."

"Maybe you will." You smiled down at him and quickly pecked his lips before you sat back upright. "You should have told me you were tired, you could have gone to your bedroom while I watched the movie."

"I didn't even know I was that tired... sorry about falling asleep on you like that. Are your legs asleep?"

They were, but you wouldn't let him know that.

"Nope! I'm just jolly."

He looked at you questioningly, not sure if he should believe you or not, but you flashed him a reassuring smile and he seemed to take that as a good sign.

"What do you want to do now, Dirk? It's half three now, so it's still sunny out if you want to do something outside, or you could go nap if you're still tired."

"Don't worry about me, I'm not tired at all now. Although if you're offering to be my pillow for the rest of the day, then I don't think I can turn down such a lucrative offer."

"Oh hush! You fell asleep on me, I couldn't just push you off!"

"I'm glad you didn't."

"Yeah yeah, it's not a big deal." You blushed slightly, it was as though you were the one being fawned over and it made you feel strange.

Dirk seemed to notice you troubled expression, and reluctantly got off your lap letting a rush of blood flow down your legs. He stood up and stretched upwards, his shirt riding up, showing off his toned abdomen.

"Let's head on outside. We can go wrestle. You haven't been over to practice in a while."

"Sounds good to me! We haven't had a tussle in quite some time now, let's have at it!" You jumped up a bit too fast and wound up falling right back over, landing back on the couch much to Dirk's alarm.

"Jake! Are you alright?"

"Oh yes yes, just fine. I guess my legs were asleep after all." You laughed a little nervously then stood up again, this time much slower. After a few seconds of careful observation from Dirk, your legs were back to normal and you were ready to go. You grabbed the empty popcorn bowl and your drink and started walking up the stairs. "Come on Dirk!"

You took the bowl to the kitchen and sat it in the sink and started to head to the back yard with your drink. Dirk was already outside waiting for you.

You sat your drink down on the porch and walked out to the yard.

The fight started as soon as you stepped foot on the lawn. It was on.


	3. Chapter 3

Fighting with one another had always been such a normal part of your routine with Dirk. Wrestling was a mutual hobby that both of you enjoyed with great immensities. The two of you would do it so often that it would appear rehearsed if someone watched it. As you both knew though, it was anything but. You could both typically predict the other's moves making it easier to fight back. The moves might change, but the technique stayed the same.

As soon as you stepped out onto the lawn you both ran towards each other, each making a mad dash to get to the other with more running force than the other. You managed to crouch down and grab Dirk around the waist, pushing him backwards. Unfortunately he was aniticipating that, so while you could push him back some, he managed to have the upper hand. He grabbed you around your waist and flipped you up over him. He was aiming to make you fall flat on your back, but you threw your legs down and managed to skid to a stop behind him by pressing down on the pad of your feet and leaning forward.

When you came to a halt, you were several feet away from him. The smirk on his face was priceless. You hadn't done that move before and that thoroughly amused Dirk. You couldn't help but smile and wink at him as you came charging forward, your fist aimed straight at the side of his jaw. He leaned back and dodged the punch, successfully using your own force against you as he pinned your arm against your back, twisting it enough to hurt but not to damage.

You twisted out from under his grip and the fight continued in that general fashion for some time, one attacking the other over and over. No one could ever really land a direct blow, but the fight was intense to say the least.

The fight went on for a long time before either or you really started to get tired, but as you both knew, there had to be a winner.

Dirk looked determined to beat you as he came running forward, charging quickly at you. You stood your ground and planted your feet firmly on the ground as you leaned forward in anticipation.

He came at you with more force than you anticipated and it wound up throwing you off your feet and onto the ground. You fell flat on your back and just barely avoided hitting your head on impact. Dirk had his hands against your shoulders, pinning them down and was in a position that made you think of being straddled. His legs were secured along your hips, and he was sitting on your waist.

You struggled for a moment, but it was no use. Dirk had you pinned down good and tight.

You caught your breath and gave him a smile.

"Good match Dirk." You looked up at Dirk, who you assumed was staring down at you.

"Do I get a prize now?" There was a playful smirk on Dirk's face as he hovered mere inches about yours.

"Prize? But I haven't anything to give you..." You thought about what you could give him for a prize, but drew a blank.

"Oh, I think there's something you could give me that would be sufficient." Dirk leaned down closer to you, hovering so close over you, your faces were almost touching.

It took you a minute to realize what he meant, you really could be dense sometimes.

"Ooooh." Your cheeks were still a bit red from the fight so Dirk probably couldn't notice your blush when you realized what the prize he wanted was. You obliged though, and quickly pecked his lips.

"You can do better than that, English. That wasn't much of a reward." Dirk smirked and didn't wait for you to say anything. He began kissing you, pressing your head back against the ground. He took one hand off your shoulder and slid it into your hair. You smirked into the kiss and used that chance to use your newly freed arm to snatch his glasses. You took yours off as well and carefully tossed them away from the two of you, making sure they landed gently and safely in the grass.

You looked up at Dirk through half open eyes and could see him doing the same, that orange gaze piercing through you.

Dirk didn't seem angry about you taking his glasses, but he did decide to mess with you for it and broke the kiss, only to gently bite your bottom lip, successfully sending a shiver up your spine.

He opened your mouth with the bite and quickly began kissing you before you had a chance to close your mouth again. He slid his tongue into your mouth, moving it around your own tongue and exploring your mouth with it. You tried to move your tongue with as much gusto as his, but you were by far being dominated in that moment.

Your hand that had taken the glasses a moment ago was now resting beside your face, the palm of your hand facing up. Dirk noticed this and worked his free hand into it, entwining his fingers with yours and holding it firmly.

You were so overwhelmed in that moment, you were literally losing yourself to it. You didn't know what exactly was getting to you the most, his kiss, his eyes, his touch, but you could always bring back the sensations to Dirk. He was the only person who'd ever been able to make you feel this way, and it may have been extremely new, but it was enjoyable.

Just as you were about to have to break the kiss due to lack of air, you and Dirk were suddenly being covered in a rapid stream of water.

"What the hell?" Dirk rolled himself off of you, never letting go of your hand, and looked up at the source of the water.

You both looked up to see a smiling Roxy, aiming the yellow and black spray nozzle of a garden hose at the two of you.

"Hello boys!" She was surprisingly sober today, she must have had plans for later. "Getting busy in the great outdoors?"

"Can it Roxy." Dirk seemed ticked off but it was hard for him to stay mad at Roxy for too long.

You sat up and leaned back, the water cooling you down as Roxy continued to spray the two of you. You left the other two to argue, you didn't feel like getting involved, plus these two seemed just like brother and sister to you, so you enjoyed letting them deal with each other, it was rather comical in your opinion.

"Oh liven up, bro. I just thought you two needed a little cooling down." Roxy had a playful smirk on her face. She was an undeniable beauty. She had a face worthy of a magazine cover and a body that looked equally as fame worthy. Today she was wearing her normal off the shoulder shirt, tight hot pink mini skirt, and tennis shoes. She didn't have on her leggings or scarf today, it was a little too warm for those, but her outfit definitely screamed 'ROXY.'

"Maybe I was trying to heat things up, did you ever stop to think about that?"

Roxy stood with her arms crossed, the nozzle in one hand pointed at the two of you, and a hip jutted out to the side in a typical female stance.

"Well, maybe you should have remembered that I was coming over today to pick _that_ up."

"Oh fuck. I forgot about that." Dirk ran a hand through his soaking wet hair, suddenly looking like he was thinking hard about something.

"You got it done didn't you?" Roxy suddenly seemed flustered and targeted Dirk with the hose instead of both of you.

"Yes yes! Fuck! Chill out with that thing already! I got it done last night, calm your tits." Dirk stood up, reluctantly letting go of your hand.

"You two stay out here, I'll be back in a few. Roxy, try not to drown Jake."

"I'm not making any promises until I get what I came here for!" Roxy smiled, but she turned the water up and sprayed you with even more water as Dirk shook his head and went inside, racing off to find a towel and whatever it was Roxy needed.

"R-Roxy! Might you stop that now? Or at least turn it onto a different setting?" You held your hand up to the spray, trying to knock the stream away from your face.

"Whatever you say Jakey." She turned the nozzle to mist, a cheerful giggle playing its way through her words. The water lightly sprayed around you, little droplets began to gather on your eyelashes and places that were too wet and couldn't hold the large drops from moments ago.

"Thank you dear. What brings you over here today?"

"Oh I'm just picking something up. I'm actually on my way to Prohibition Jane's house. We're having a sleepover tonight. You boys can't be the only ones to have all the fun." Roxy gave you her signature wonk, although she started to look a little nervous when she mentioned picking something up from Dirk.

"What are you picking up? Something for your sleepover?"

"So Jake, how are things with you and Dirk? You never did text me back yesterday." Much to your confusion Roxy completely ignored your question and went onto a completely new topic.

"Oh... well things are going just fine thank you."

"Oh come on Jake, you can do better than that. That makeout I was watching was not just 'fine.' How long have you two been together now?"

"Eeeeh?" You felt flustered from the sudden question. It was not one you expected so soon, and you weren't really sure how to answer it.

"Don't make me spray it out of you!" Roxy smirked and tapped the nozzle threateningly, probably ready to spray you even if you did tell her.

"Alright, alright! Gosh. What exactly do you want to know Roxy?" You laid down in defeat and Roxy hovered over you, standing straight and blocking the sun from hitting your face.

"Are you in love with him?"

Your eyes went wide and you practically choked on the rapid stream of thoughts traveling through your mind. You might have felt that way about him, but that definitely wasn't something you had put into words like that. Roxy stared down at you with a nuetral face, glancing away for a moment, but not more than a few seconds.

"Uh... well... oh my..." You were suddenly grateful for being wet, you figured you would have a coat of sweat on your forehead if you weren't. You continued to think about how to answer Roxy's painfully direct question, but after a moment you came to a sort of self realization.

You figured there was no real reason for you to be hesitant about your feelings. Somewhere you knew you wouldn't have done what you did had you not been in love with Dirk.

"Yes, I suppose I am in love with him." You said it very straightforwardly, no longer finding a reason to be flustered. Some people called you stupid for the way you would so quickly trust someone and the way you would so quickly change emotions, but it was a trait you treasured.

Roxy smiled, seemingly amused by your answer. You thought you heard the click of a door, but Roxy spoke before you could make it out clearly.

"Good. I'm glad that's how you feel." She seemed genuinely happy for your new found feelings, but there seemed to be a double meaning to her statement that confused you for a moment, but you put it off as just being Roxy's general strangeness.

"It's definitely different, but not in a bad way."

"I wish everyone could realize or change their feelings like you, Jake." Roxy looked sad, her smile no longer reaching her eyes.

"Roxy?" You gave her a concerned look, but before you knew it, she was back to her normal self, smiling brightly. She kneeled down and suddenly turned the nozzle on to a fairly strong spray.

You laughed and rolled away from her as you picked yourself up, avoiding her spray by running up onto the porch, nearly running straight into Dirk in the process.

"Whoops!" You stumbled back, but was quickly moved aside as Roxy came walking up to Dirk, leaving the hose to flood the yard.

Dirk was significantly more dry than you, but he was still damp. His clothes hung closely to his skin, leaving nearly nothing to the imagination. You couldn't tell, but the same could be said about you, only more so considering you were still soaking wet.

You walked over to the hose and turned it off, leaving Roxy and Dirk to talk. You grabbed both of your glasses and put Dirk's on, making the world suddenly a lot darker. You twirled your glasses in one of your hands and walked back over to the two of them. Roxy took something small and silver from Dirk, likely a flash drive, and tucked it into her shirt, slipping it into her bra as she often did with her phone, ID, and money. If nothing else could be said about Roxy, the girl hated purses except when it came to toting alcohol.

"Well, I better get lost! I need to hurry over to Jane's house before I ruin this lovely little sleepover." Roxy looked ecstatic and kissed Dirk's cheek before running over to you and kissed the sun glasses.

"Bye boys! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She winked at you two, and before you could say anything, she was off, leaving you a little confused and leaving Dirk looking tired. He leaned against the porch railing and sighed. You joined him, still not knowing what to make of Roxy's quick visit.

You mimicked Dirk's stance and leaned against the rail next to him. You looked up at him and he smirked when he noticed the shades, his bright eyes glancing slowly over your form for a reason unknown to you.

"Do you like the shades?" He moved a little closer to you, his shoulder brushing yours.

"I don't see why you wear them so often, they make everything so very dark! They're rather comfortable though." You sat your glasses down just as Dirk wrapped an arm around your shoulder and pulled you into his chest.

You let yourself rest against him, he felt warm and he was comfortable to lean against.

"They're convenient for me. My eyes tend to be sensitive to light."

"Oh, do you need them now? Is the sun too bright?"

"Calm yourself Jake, I'm fine. The trees block most of the sunlight anyway." His eyes were half closed, but you let it slide. You'd make him go inside in a minute, but as for now you were comfortable and he seemed to be as well. You didn't mind spending a few more minutes like that. It also gave the two of you a chance to dry off some more. Luckily it was warm out that day.

You started to close your eyes when suddenly a desktop came to life on the glasses and a text application popped up.

It was the Auto Responder.

**Kiss him now and you're likely to make Dirk happier than he's ever been. Tonight has a purpose, the clock is ticking, and that prince's kokoro is going doki doki way too much to do jack shit. Make this happen Jake. You won't be sorry.**

The screen went blank as soon as you finished reading. You had no earthly idea what a kokoro was or how the hell it went doki doki, but aside from that, the whole thing made you wonder what AR meant. How in the world could kissing Dirk right then make him happier than he'd ever been?

You didn't think about it too long though, AR did tend to know best. You sat the glasses down with yours again, then looked up at Dirk, getting his attention, and it looked like he was about to say something, but you cut him off and practically threw yourself at him. You had your arms wrapped around his neck and your lips pressed firmly against his before he knew what was coming. Water from your hair dripped down your back. You felt that in this type of situation it would typically be Dirk who dominated, but you wanted to have your chance at it as well, and as of right then you had your chance. You ran your tongue along his lips which quickly parted, letting your tongue wander it's way inside. Dirk was surprised to say the least, but it wasn't like him to turn down a chance like that. He had his hands on your waist and was holding you close to him, and with both of you still wearing wet clothes, the closeness left very little unknown to either of you.

You could feel his chiseled form pressed against you, barely any space left anywhere between your bodies. You were rather tone yourself, and your clothes hung limply to you, some of them barely able to stay on. Your jacket was soaked and getting rather uncomfortable. You let go of Dirk's neck and threw the jacket off, throwing it down on the porch. You hadn't meant anything by it, but the moment it was off it seemed as though some switch had been thrown inside Dirk, and suddenly you lost every ounce of dominance you had at any point that evening.

Dirk had a hand in your hair and one below your back belt loops on your shorts before you knew what was happening. You were leaning back some and you had to keep your arms tight around his neck to not lose your balance. Dirk's tongue was moving throughout your mouth and suddenly the kiss was taking your breath away and making you feel as though you could just melt away from the sheer heat of the moment. The kiss wasn't sloppy, but strong and calculated on Dirk's behalf.

He slowly broke the kiss, his eyes waiting to meet yours when you began to open them. In that instance his gaze was more penetrating and serious than any look you had ever gotten from him. It looked as though his eyes were flickering, they looked so filled with desire for you. Your emerald eyes were dimmed as you caught your breath, light pants escaping your lips. You couldn't look away from that gaze, it seemed to have you captured and locked in on it.

When you came over that afternoon, you never even considered anything like this, but right then and there, nothing about the situation seemed wrong of uncomfortable to you. You could feel the heat of your cheeks, but it was from a combination of the kiss and the gaze you were receiving.

Without a moment's notice Dirk had a hand under you and was picking you up. It seemed he was trying to lift you and hold you sideways against him so he could carry you bridal style, but you had other plans. You wrapped your hips around his waist, obviously to Dirk's pleasure. He held his hand under you and the other around your waist. Whether intentional of not, the position resulted in giving Dirk a chance to tease you a little. He put his face to your neck and bit some of the flesh there, at the same moment rubbing his hand against the back of your shorts, groping one side of your butt.

You bit your lip until releasing a silent moan. Your chest moved into Dirk's and your hips moved out slightly, moving farther into his groping hand. His lips were still moving on your neck, a mix of bites, kisses, and licks being placed sporadically around the flesh, all of them sending shivers up your spine.

You thought Dirk had intended on carrying you inside, but it seemed he forgot about it, possible from the surprise you gave him by wrapping around him.

"D-Dirk... shouldn't we go inside? The sun is going to set soon..." It was that time of the year where the sun didn't set too soon, but that was the first thing that came to your mind and Dirk didn't seem to oppose the idea.

"Hold on tight." You were were already holding on just fine, but you did as you were told, bringing a little smile to Dirk's lips. He caught your lips in another kiss and walked over to the door, quickly letting go of your waist to throw it open then a moment later it was kicked close. Dirk didn't put his hand back on your waist, but instead slid it under your shirt and started to run it up your back, his fingers leaving trails of fire up your skin.

Dirk's room wasn't far from the back door, and a moment later he had you thrown down into the center of the bed and he was hovering over you. He looked like he was thinking of something.

"Jake, what did you tell Roxy earlier when I was gone?"


End file.
